Jaden Francois-Esprit, a young fireman who took his own life in 2020.
SHARE:
A year-long independent review has found no evidence of direct bullying or harassment after an East London firefighter took his own life.
Jaden Francois-Esprit died at his home in Wapping in late August 2020.
His family were concerned that possible racial bullying from his London Fire Brigade colleagues had contributed to his death, but the report found no evidence to support this.
It was found that the young fireman was not provided with a locker and that his on-call bed was in a poor state, but this was not unique to him.
The investigators referenced working conditions and the pandemic as key factors that could have contributed to his death.
The report said: “Most of these issues were working conditions for all firefighters serving at the fire station and were not designed or intended to cause Jaden any detriment.
“The impact of the pandemic – the uncertainty of his progression, the immediate change to social norms and resulting sense of individual isolation, for example – is likely also to have negatively affected Jaden’s wellbeing.”
Firefighter Jaden Francois-Esprit
Fire commissioner Andy Roe told a media briefing at City Hall on Tuesday morning: “I want to be clear, [the findings] do not mean Jaden’s personal lived experience at the brigade was not a factor in his untimely death.
“I personally believe we failed Jaden as an organisation because the report’s findings do indicate failings in our day-to-day protocols, approaches and systems as they were at that time.”
Mr Roe is due to address the London Assembly about the report’s findings later today.
Submitted Article
Headline
Short Headline
Standfirst
Published Article
HeadlineYoung firefighter who took his own life “not a victim of discrimination”, report finds
Short HeadlineFirefighter who took his own life "not victim of discrimination"
StandfirstJaden Francois-Esprit, 21, died by suicide at his East London home in August 2020
A year-long independent review has found no evidence of direct bullying or harassment after an East London firefighter took his own life.
Jaden Francois-Esprit died at his home in Wapping in late August 2020.
His family were concerned that possible racial bullying from his London Fire Brigade colleagues had contributed to his death, but the report found no evidence to support this.
It was found that the young fireman was not provided with a locker and that his on-call bed was in a poor state, but this was not unique to him.
The investigators referenced working conditions and the pandemic as key factors that could have contributed to his death.
The report said: “Most of these issues were working conditions for all firefighters serving at the fire station and were not designed or intended to cause Jaden any detriment.
“The impact of the pandemic – the uncertainty of his progression, the immediate change to social norms and resulting sense of individual isolation, for example – is likely also to have negatively affected Jaden’s wellbeing.”
Firefighter Jaden Francois-Esprit
Fire commissioner Andy Roe told a media briefing at City Hall on Tuesday morning: “I want to be clear, [the findings] do not mean Jaden’s personal lived experience at the brigade was not a factor in his untimely death.
“I personally believe we failed Jaden as an organisation because the report’s findings do indicate failings in our day-to-day protocols, approaches and systems as they were at that time.”
Mr Roe is due to address the London Assembly about the report’s findings later today.
Inside Success Union CIC claim to empower vulnerable young people, but allegations of underpayment and concerns over their fundraising practices are undermining their message.
